We’re so used to the career politicians. Or even the mega-rich candidates who try to buy their way into public office. But once in a while, someone comes along who is a breath of fresh air. A common man, who just wants to better his community.
Take New Milford’s Billy Buckbee. He doesn’t have a Harvard Law degree, he isn’t a career politician, nor does he have millions to buy your vote. Heck, he doesn’t even wear a suit. As a a 4th generation New Milford native, he’s a common man who has ideas on how to make his town a better place to live. You may see him working at Harrybrook Park, or helping out with the New Milford Homeless Shelter, and around the holidays, he’s the closest thing to Santa you’ll ever see, and the beard is real!
Now, Billy is seeking your vote in November as he sets his sights on Connecticut State Rep. for the 67th District in New Milford.

So, in these days of Washington establishment politicians, it’s nice to see a candidate who, like most of us, is down to earth and real.
This is not an endorsement, rather a refreshing look at a common candidate, and a common man. And if you so desire in November, “Let Buckbee Do It”.
Read More: Common Man From New Milford Running For State Office | http://kicks1055.com/common-man-from-new-milford-running-for-state-office/?trackback=tsmclip

by Alexander Soule | ctpost.com | June 7, 2015
A decade back, attorneys from the town of Fairfield and General Electric met in court to determine the value of the company, at least as measured by the worth of its headquarters property at 3135 Easton Turnpike. A judge ruled that the town erred in calculating its formula for arriving at its figure.

With GE CEO Jeff Immelt announcing last week a search for a potential new headquarters outside of Connecticut, representatives from Fairfield to Hartford are now working out their own calculus on the value Connecticut reaps from the behemoth's presence.

Employment, tax contributions, philanthropy, real estate, reputation -- all are slotted key points on the slide rule of economic development, in differing order depending on a particular vantage point.

"The mere presence of a corporate entity with the stature, world markets penetration, success story and history such as GE says a great deal about the place in which such an entity is located," said Paul Timpanelli, CEO of the Bridgeport Regional Business Council. "To have such a company even consider leaving Connecticut, because Connecticut is no longer a place that encourages and supports business, is a very bad sign for the future economic growth of our state."

Over the decades, GE has successfully kept its toehold near the top of the Fortune 500 -- this past week it was ranked eighth on the 2015 installment of the list -- in part through its willingness to drop lesser-performing business units and put that cash into faster-growth areas.

Connecticut’s economy is like a ship that is taking on water, and while we all frantically bail it out, the state Democratic budget whistles in like a giant cannonball threatening to blow a big hole right through the bottom.

We have become the state other states pity because we cannot get our house in order. While other states — including our neighbors — reform and reduce taxes on residents, our lawmakers have decided they must raise taxes again, just four short years after enacting the largest tax hike in the state’s history.

And now we are facing another massive tax hike.

How many signs do our elected leaders need before they realize how bad things are? We have a shrinking population, fewer children, revenues that come in year after year below projections, shrinking home values, and a populace that is unhappy and frustrated by the cost of living here.

Oh, but I’m just being a whiner, right? A complainer. Negative.

No. That is a weak defense, if it is any defense at all.

Those of us who raise the alarm do it because we care enough to raise the alarm. It is not about negativity, it comes from a place of deep concern for this state that we call home. And that concern ultimately springs from a place of love for Connecticut.

Those of us who point out the bad news are as invested in the success of this state as anyone else. We want to see our parents retire here, to see our children find jobs here. We want to stay and build lives here.

But we also want to feel like we are not going to get squeezed for more tax dollars every two years to pay for the ever-growing cost of our state and local governments, with no end in sight.

Those who are advocating for more tax increases say they must have the revenue otherwise they would have to cut services for our most vulnerable citizens — like the developmentally disabled and mentally ill. This is a false narrative. This is not an either-or proposition. There are other ways, other places to cut.

And yes, most of those ways involve shrinking or privatizing parts of state government.

The latest bonding package includes tens of millions of dollars for technology infrastructure. We should do as the Connecticut Institute for the 21st Century suggests and outsource the state’s IT to private providers. Imagine the millions we could save.

And there is still so much waste. The state’s Department of Agriculture is almost $500,000 in the hole because it is paying to house sick — and contagious — goats at a prison instead of euthanizing them.

Sickly prison yard goats — a strange metaphor or bad omen?

Lawmakers have also proposed borrowing $3 million for the Tennis Foundation of Connecticut.

Yes, $3 million is small fries next to the billions we spend, but it is indicative of a larger problem. This state taxes and spends as though it is wealthy, and clearly it is not. Yes, it has wealthy people, and many successful businesses, but the state is broke and in debt because it has not used its resources wisely. To ask for more money to spend in the face of this is galling to many people.

Connecticut’s employers — the people we work for and buy stuff from — are particularly alarmed by the legislature’s budget. This is because it slams them from every angle — from an expansion of the sales tax, to reduced tax credits, to another extension of the corporate surcharge.

CBIA, the state’s largest business association, called an emergency meeting yesterday with stakeholders from across the state to discuss ways to push back. Joe Brennan, the association’s president, has come out strongly in opposition to the legislature’s budget.

“The stuff I’m hearing is scary,” he said. “I hear every day about investment going out of Connecticut.”

The income tax and capital gains surcharge would similarly chase jobs and investment out of the state. For those who would be affected by these tax increases, the effective top tax rate would be 9 percent. As a comparison, New York’s top income tax rate is 8.82 percent. As a state that has historically benefited from having a relatively advantageous tax code compared to our neighbors, this should be alarming.

And in a particularly egregious move, the new tax rules would be applied retroactively, so those affected would see a serious bite out of their remaining paychecks for the year, whether they have bills to pay or not.

What those who support the legislative Democrats’ budget need to realize is that any increased revenues that come from these hikes would be short lived. That is what happened after 2011 — the state saw a year of revenue growth, followed by three years of revenue stagnation, accompanied by deep, damaging deficits.

That is what will happen again if this budget is passed. It would devastate Connecticut’s economy and lead to even greater problems down the road.

And then lawmakers will be back where they started, facing distraught families who could see their state aid cut, and state taxpayers who are already fed up.

Enough is enough. Let’s hope there are Democrats who are brave enough to stand up and speak out against this budget.

If not, it will be up to Gov. Malloy and his veto pen.

Suzanne Bates is the policy director for the Yankee Institute for Public Policy. She lives in South Windsor with her family. Follow her on Twitter @suzebates.

DISCLAIMER: The views, opinions, positions, or strategies expressed by the author are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or positions of CTNewsJunkie.com.

The New Milford Republican Town Committee is in the process of assembling our slate of candidates for the upcoming municipal elections. We encourage ANY New Milford Republican who would like to volunteer their time and talent to contact NMRTC Chairman Peter Bass to schedule and interview. Please email Peter at tykeb1@aol.com.